"Confident that he'd have a chance to win, Rudy Giuliani is rounding up his top political advisers for a possible 2012 presidential run, sources tell Page Six.

Sources say the tough-talking former mayor "thinks the Republican race will be populated with far-right candidates like Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee, and there's opportunity for a moderate candidate with a background in national security."

Giuliani has even scheduled a trip to New Hampshire for next month to meet with constituents in the state that failed him in January 2008, when he placed fourth in the Republican presidential primary.

Rudy GiulianiThe problem is that even Rudy loyalists think it's a bad idea. "They think this is crazy," a source said. "They realize how long the odds are, but they are standing by................"

(1) accepted fees from over-the-counter penny stocks, (2) formed financial pacts with businesses and individuals that have come under scrutiny by regulators and law enforcement officers. Forbes cited a number of deals that might be perceived as being illegal.

Forbes cited Giuliani Partners foray into Lighting Science Group. Giuliani's banking arm took a warrant for 1.6 million shares at 60 cents, a fee of $150,000 and a promise to raise cash. The firm went bankrupt. It's lost $412,000 on sales of $137,000 in its last six months.

Another venture is CamelBak, maker of a hands-free canteens for Marines in Iraq. It started out under Giuliani's consulting arrangement with $31 million in sales, but got run into the ground with various missteps, including having as a board member, the disgraced Bernie Kerik who pled guilty to having mob ties.

Forbes said Giuliani's most controversial deal was throwing in with a 2004 project with Applied DNA Sciences, which promised to outsmart counterfeiters by inserting bits of DNA from plants into cosmetics and pills to prevent bootleg versions. Its head, Richard Langley Jr., however, had a shady past, having pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and commercial bribery in another penny stock scam.

=========================================

An audit of Giuliani Partners may find its principles engaged in establishing secret offshore bank accounts outside the purview of the IRS, engaged in casual accounting practices, and non-existent financial oversight.

42
posted on 01/07/2011 8:31:01 PM PST
by Liz
(There's a new definition of bipartisanship in Washington -- it's called "former member.")

When Rudy Giuliani walked out of City Hall 10 years ago, he had $2 million in the bank, a $4M tax-exempt foundation headed by his mistress, and the moniker "America's mayor."

Then came the book deals, the speaking tours scheduled by Washington Speakers Bureau, 1663 Prince Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 USA, and the partnership at a powerful Washington lobbying house.

None, however, would prove more lucrative than the small consulting firm Giuliani and a dozen of his most trusted aides founded in 2002 in an angular glass tower at 5 Times Square.

Most of the firm's top executives were in the mayor's "kitchen cabinet," including Bernard Kerik, his former police chief; Michael Hess, who served as the city's top lawyer; Anthony Carbonetti, chief of staff from '99-'01; Daniel Connolly, special counsel to the city's Law Department from '97-'01; Thomas Von Essen, former FDNY commissioner; and Dennison Young Jr., chief counsel during Giuliani's eight years as mayor.

Since its startup in 2002, Giuliani Partners has formed several subsidiaries, including an investment bank called Giuliani Capital Advisors - since sold - Giuliani Compliance Japan and security companies called Giuliani-Kerik and Giuliani Security & Safety, which replaced Giuliani-Kerik and Giuliani Security & Safety Asia.

By the time Giuliani declared his first losing run for president, his namesake firm had grossed an estimated $100 million. The ex-mayor himself was worth of as much as $66 million.

But on the campaign trail he was fending off questions about the shady clients, disgraced employees and murky business decisions.

Nobody has been more problematic than Kerik, who rose from a job as Giuliani's driver during his 1993 mayoral campaign to head of the city's Correction Department and finally police commissioner. At Giuliani Partners, Kerik headed an affiliated security-consulting company. Controversy erupted after Giuliani recommended Kerik to President Bush, who nominated him be Homeland Security chief in 2004. Kerik abruptly withdrew his name, blaming tax issues involving a nanny, but reports soon surfaced about stock-option windfalls, connections with people suspected of dealing with the mob and extramarital affairs.

Texas tycoon Sam Wyly and his brother Charles have just been charged by the SEC with fraud. The SEC alleges that the brothers got $550 million in undisclosed gains while sitting on public boards and that they then hid the money in an elaborate sham system of trusts and subsidiary

44
posted on 01/07/2011 11:34:06 PM PST
by calcowgirl
("Controlling carbon is a bureaucrat's dream. If you control carbon, you control life" --Lindzen)

Texas tycoon Sam Wyly and his brother Charles have just been charged by the SEC with fraud. The SEC alleges that the brothers got $550 million in undisclosed gains while sitting on public boards and that they then hid the money in an elaborate sham system of trusts and subsidiary companies in the Isle of Man and the Cayman Islands.

45
posted on 01/07/2011 11:44:32 PM PST
by calcowgirl
("Controlling carbon is a bureaucrat's dream. If you control carbon, you control life" --Lindzen)

Texas tycoon Sam Wyly and his brother Charles have been charged by the SEC......they hid some $500M gained by fraud in an elaborate sham system of trusts and subsidiary companies in the Isle of Man and the Cayman Islands.

THAT SOUNDS FAMILIAR The trustee ID'ing Bernie Madoff's Ponzi assets unearthed a labyrinth of interrelated intl funds, institutions and entities of almost unparalleled complexity and breadth with assets and businesses in 11 places overseas. No question, tax evasion and money laundering was the name of the game for wealthy investors funneling income to Madoff.

Wealthy businessmen posing as "philanthropists" hid and laundered hundreds of millions in annual income with Madoff. Later investors were suckered in to make the scheme look legit. The suckers helped payoff wealthy investors like Picower who made payback deals with Bernie. Picower got back much much more than he put in.....to the tune of 900%.

Rennert's Hamptons Mega Mansion, Sagaponack, NY; rivals Versailles and Buckingham Palace in luxury and size. Rennert says he is Founder of Renco Group. This obscenely gargantuan mansion, dubbed Fairfield, is reportedly the largest occupied residential compound in America Square Feet: 66,000 / 110,000 (including outbuildings). It is situated on 63 prime acres and houses 29 bedrooms and 39 bathrooms. It also has a dining room that stretches 90 feet long, a bowling alley, two tennis courts, a squash court, a 164 seat movie theater, and a 200 car garage AND a rather rare item---its own power plant.

Fairfield is currently valued at more than $185 illion. Hamptonites complain this astoundingly palatial mega-mansion in the posh Hamptons is actually a "synagogue-residence-yeshiva" for Orthodox Judaism students.

46
posted on 01/08/2011 6:12:36 AM PST
by Liz
(There's a new definition of bipartisanship in Washington -- it's called "former member.")

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